As film fans, there’s always a handful of films that we allow to pass us by. This usually isn’t at all indicative of their quality – sometimes, like with Last Night in Soho, we’re just a little Late To The Party.
Despite being best known for his comedy efforts, director Edgar Wright has proven himself capable in a wide range of genres. His Cornetto Trilogy showcased he was capable of making solid horror, action, and sci-fi movies, and the likes of Baby Driver proved he was capable of much more serious fare. 2021 saw the release of the much-anticipated Last Night in Soho, Wright’s first foray into psychological horror (and a film without so much as a whiff of comedy).
Starring Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Matt Smith, Diana Rigg, and Terence Stamp, Last Night in Soho tells the story of a young woman who moves to London to study fashion. Struggling to adjust to her new surroundings and caught up in her own fascination with the 1960s, Ellie (McKenzie) begins to have dreams about a lounge singer (Taylor-Joy) and her manager (Smith). As links between her dreams and modern day London reveal that them to be visions from the past, Ellie becomes embroiled in a decades-old mystery that cuts to the very heart of Soho itself.
Last Night In Soho’s Story Is Engaging On Multiple Levels
Last Night in Soho is a film that combines a small cast of believable characters, a real-world place with a personality of its own, and the supernatural allure of mystery, hope, and heartbreak into a living, breathing fairy tale. The tongue-in-cheek approach to genre previously taken by Wright is nowhere to be seen, and instead, the film is an earnest love letter to both nostalgia and horror movie history. In this, it feels both distinctly unique and something of a throwback, making it a truly fascinating piece of cinema.
The film is, primarily, an examination of the forgotten memories left behind the contribute to a place’s story. Soho is a part of London shrouded with seedy history, and Last Night in Soho‘s story feeds on this past. However, it isn’t the film’s gritty examination of exploitation and sex work that makes its story so powerful: it’s the grounding of it all in the modern day through the lens of innocent nostalgia.
McKenzie’s performance brings forth tension and paranoia, while Taylor-Joy is on hand to provide glamour and despair. Smith tops the central cast off with a powerful performance as the unpleasant Jack, offering up sleaze, charm, and anger in turns. It’s a brilliantly-well-acted film, but that’s still not its best quality.
Last Night In Soho Offers An Overwhelming Feast For The Senses
In a visual sense, Last Night in Soho is conceptually excellent. The aesthetic ideas brought to life by Wright are truly breath-taking, with rich colour and neon light used to bring the darkest corners of ’60s Soho to life. Making everything more vibrant within Ellie’s flashbacks serves to subtly highlight the importance of characters’ hopes and dreams to the story. On multiple occasions, Wright also executes homages to famed horror director Dario Argento, whose work clearly inspired the film.
The use of ’60s music helps ground the film not in its actual setting, but in Ellie’s fascination, further amping up Last Night in Soho‘s ability to warp its own identity. Blurring the lines between past and present, dreams and reality is something that’s carried off brilliantly, and it cements the psychological elements of the film as particularly potent. Topping it off with a deftly-handled twist is the icing on the cake, as it once again shows how Ellie’s own feelings have warped her perception.
Last Night in Soho clearly exists as a gaudy love letter to the B-movie horror of Wright’s youth. It’s a self-aware warning about the dangers of unchecked nostalgia and the naivety of youth, all tied up in a gorgeously presented package. With a handful of earnest performances from its central cast, Last Night in Soho delights in pushing its horror by playing with modern conventions in the best way.
Rating: 80%
Summary: Last Night in Soho combines the talents of a brilliantly creative filmmaker with a cast of expert actors, bringing its dark and gripping story to life in a fashion reminiscent of the forgotten horror movies of years gone by.
Highlight: The slow reveal of the film’s big plot twist shows just how well Wright knows his craft: it’s not rushed, nor is it forced – it’s just there, paying off the film’s narrative in a tense and heartfelt finale.